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Conzou visiting ESLSHS today... :suspicious:
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (March 2017)
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Jack Ingram
Did I read somewhere on this board his sister is a principal there?
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illinihawk16
- Chicago
Must be visiting somebody other than Tilmon? Can't imagine he'd commit a recruiting violation in plain sight...
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It's shocking that a head coach would visit his hometown after being hired by a nearby state university.
I'd expect him to do it frequently whether any of our recruits attend school there or not.Peoria Illini
- Peoria, IL
I'm sure Cuonzo had no idea that Jeremiah was in the coach's office when he just stopped by to say hello to the head coach...
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Hargrove ... but the timing is a little suspect I'd say.
Dominique Keller.
sacraig
- The desert
Of course, Jeremiah Tilmon is the only basketball player in East St. Louis, so there is obviously no way he could be there to visit anyone else.
When we hire that can of cream of mushroom soup as an assistant that was leaked yesterday, stuff like this won't happen anymore!
Yes Texas is loaded with HS basketball talent, likely even more than Illinois.
Of course it's the 2nd most populous state so that shouldn't be surprising.
Its surprising in that Texas' talented athletes are pushed into football (and therefore track), and even baseball (especially at my school and we're only good at basketball). At some schools down here football coaches expect football players to be in the football athletic period every day all year, even if the athlete is in a different sport currently in season. All the money and the prestige and attention is given to football. Aside from a really top notch coaches clinic, the deck is stacked against basketball growth in every area.
Conversely, Illinois is a basketball first state, and some schools located in the hottest basketball recruiting area in the country don't even have football teams. The best athletes in Illinois are full time basketball players a majority of the time. And they started early, I think I remember school sports starting around 5th grade in Illinois. These things are not true of Texas.
79illinois
- Winnetka, IL
Besides James Griffin, his recruiting classmate Cletis Hubbard (aka "Sue"), who transferred pretty quickly.
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
We always called him Pinhead.
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Derek Piper @DPiperScout 6m6 minutes ago
Cuonzo Martin will have an in-home visit w/ Mr. Basketball winner Mark Smith today/tonight. Told Tom Izzo is expected to be in after that.
Cuonzo a busy dude. Course considering what he's inheriting, can't really blame him.
Cuonzo Martin will have an in-home visit w/ Mr. Basketball winner Mark Smith today/tonight. Told Tom Izzo is expected to be in after that.
Cuonzo a busy dude. Course considering what he's inheriting, can't really blame him.
Well I'm sure you thought that was pretty darn clever at that time.
What was your preferred nickname for Derek Holcomb? We seemed split on Spock or The Incredible Holc.
frozenrope9190
- Aurora, IL
Brian Cook tweeting Mr. Mark Smith, if it hasn't already been reported. Mentioning the pride and joy to come on home and represent!
Some interesting history on James Griffin:
* Co-Captain & Co-MVP of the 1981-1982 Illini team (shared with Perry Range)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981–82_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_men's_basketball_team
* Ranked #29 out of 50 Illini players:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1056695-illinois-basketball-the-top-50-players-in-school-history
Bouncing in and out of Illinois’ starting lineup, James Griffin’s biggest asset was his physical presence. The 6’10” center averaged as many as seven rebounds a game with the Illini, and his 156 career blocks place fourth on the school’s all-time list.
Griffin was drafted by the Nets, but the 1980s were not kind to that franchise’s draft picks. He joined the long list of busts (albeit as a fourth-rounder), never playing in the NBA.
* Additional info & pic: http://www.thedraftreview.com/index...es-griffin&catid=92:1982-nba-draft&Itemid=158
I just remember he would be maddenly inconsistent. On some nights he could have a double-double (points, rebounds) while on other nights he was invisible or maybe would get 2 points and a block while fouling out.
His free throws had the rarely seen sideways rotation, so he wasn't too good from the line.
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TownieMatt
CU Expat
- Chicago
No idea what Smith's feelings are toward Mizzou. Might depend on how his decommitment from Mizzou baseball went. However, from his point of view, Mizzou might be an attractive option. He'd certainly get plenty of PT early.
Obviously MSU and Kentucky getting involved isn't ideal, but it's really late in the game. Is Smith going to commit to a school that's been recruiting him for two weeks?
I still like our chances here, but wouldn't be surprised if he went elsewhere.
Obviously MSU and Kentucky getting involved isn't ideal, but it's really late in the game. Is Smith going to commit to a school that's been recruiting him for two weeks?
I still like our chances here, but wouldn't be surprised if he went elsewhere.
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
Yeah, in hindsight, it was pretty uncool. Griff was always one of my favorites. Had a great attitude and just seemed to love playing.
Don't remember any nickname for Holcomb. He was only there a year or two.
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
As I recall, Derek Harper had a very weird rotation on his shot his first two years. Somewhere before his junior year, that got fixed and the rest is history.
Holcomb was a star at Peoria Richwoods and graduated 1 year ahead of future Illini star Mark Smith. That was one of the best high school teams to never win an Illinois state title. They finished 4th Holcomb's junior year and then were upset in the regional final Holcomb's senior year.
Holcomb went to Indiana for 1 year before deciding Lou was a better fit than Knight. Derek played 3 years for Lou and left school as the all-time career shot blocker. He has since been passed by Deon, Tizzy and Nnanna.
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I'm really concerned with the lack of bigs. Based off today's scholarship grid, we'll have something like*
Guards
Lucas
Frazier
[possibly Smith]
Da'Monte
JCL
AJ
Pickett
Wings
Kipper
DJW
Forwards
Black
Finke
Center
Tilmon
with 1 to give. To me, this says we absolutely have to get a center, or or 4/5 that is able to defend. We're painted into a corner with our guard heavy roster, and pursuit of Smith.
*positions are arguable, and not knowing BU's system, I'm even less comfortable than usual assigning them. Still, our need for another center is pretty glaring.
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